


Locked In The Jasmine Dragon

by kirkwords



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Gay Panic, Gen, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:55:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29099154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirkwords/pseuds/kirkwords
Summary: Zuko swore again and leant his head on the door. Great. He was stuck in here until the morning with Sokka. Of all the people in the four nations, it had to be him. Although Zuko thought, At least he doesn’t hate me or want me dead. There was an upside to all of this.
Relationships: Sokka & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Locked In The Jasmine Dragon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alfredolover119](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alfredolover119/gifts), [to_the_stars_who_listen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/to_the_stars_who_listen/gifts).



“Goodnight Uncle, I’ll see you back at the apartment.” 

Firelord Zuko called out the doors of the Jasmine Dragon. He shut them behind him as he wandered back inside, wiping down the nearest table. The sunset shone through the windows, lighting the new dragon designs in the glass as they reflected on the floor. Zuko began to hum to himself as he worked, the stress and beauty of Ba Sing Se slipping off his shoulders for another evening. It was nice to have the tea shop to himself, if only for an hour or so as he cleaned the place. It was calming, meditative to say the least.

He never wanted to admit it to anyone, not even himself, but Zuko preferred the green and brown tones of the Earth Kingdom over the harsh red and black of the Fire Nation. Though, Zuko thought to himself, that could just be because of his upbringing. He was happy to be able to stay in Ba Sing Se for short periods of time, to see his Uncle and just be 'Lee from the Tea Shop.' Even though he was the Firelord now, he and Iroh found it amusing among themselves to still go by the names they had assumed while in hiding here during the war. 

“What song is that?” 

Zuko jumped and dropped the cloth in his hand, stumbling backwards onto the floor. He let out a startled yelp as he hit the ground. Leaning against the serving bench was Sokka, spinning his boomerang in his hand. He was wearing his Water Tribe attire, his loose blue vest tied at the waist. His hair was down, framing his sharp jaw with subtle waves. He tore his eyes away and cleared his throat.

“Sokka! What are you doing here? We’re closed.” Zuko scrambling to his feet, trying to compose himself. He took an alarmed step back as Sokka approached him and picked up the cloth, resuming Zuko’s work on the table. 

“Thought you could use a hand. Besides, I wanted to ask if I could stay with you and your Uncle tonight. Aang wanted to come to the city with Katara and I and...I do not want to bare witness to anything that might happen between those two.” Sokka explained, glancing up at his friend. Zuko nodded in understanding. He wouldn’t want to have to share a place with Azula if she was with someone like that. The very thought made him shudder. He snatched the cloth from Sokka and went back to his job.

“So what was the song you were humming?” Sokka asked, moving a chair back under its table. 

“Oh, uh, just a song I heard from my Uncle”

“What’s it about?”

“...The girls from Ba Sing Se” 

“Does it have lyrics?”

“Why do you care? Yes it has lyrics.”

“Sing them.”

“What? Sokka, no”

“Come on, I promise I would tell anyone.” 

“Fine.” Zuko took a deep breath and immediately regretted agreeing to everything in his life that brought him up to this point. Looking at Sokka’s stupid face didn’t help either. The Water Tribe boy was grinning ear to ear, a smile that Zuko couldn't tell was mocking or genuine, but it was shining regardless. He had never been the best at reading people.

“...It’s a long, long, way to Ba Sing Se.

But the girls in the city, they look so pretty.

And they kiss so sweet that you’ve really got to meet

The girls from Ba Sing Se.”

Sokka, who had seated himself for the performance, stood and gave Zuko a round of applause. Zuko could feel his face warming. He narrowed his eyes at Sokka and the clapping ceased.

"Alright, you can stop mocking me now." 

"Who said I was mocking you? I've never mocked anyone in my life."

"Except for Aang, Toph, your sister, my sister. Then there was that Earth Kingdom merchant, my general, Ty Lee,…" Zuko trailed off, counting every person on his fingers. Sokka's cocky expression dropped. 

"Okay fine, I've mocked a few… lot of people, but I can assure you, Your Firelordyness, that I am not mocking you at this current moment."

"You  _ just _ called me 'Your Firelordyness.'"

“I do it out of respect.”

“Right…” Zuko shuffled past Sokka, snatching the cleaning cloth back. "Uncle's at the apartment now if you want to stay with us. I’m sure he would have no issue." he offered, trying to get Sokka out of his hair. 

Sokka took the hint and went to leave. Zuko heard a rattling at the door as he took the serving trays around the back. Another series of rattles followed, then Sokka's voice. 

"It's locked."

"What?" 

"The door is locked. Do you have keys back there?" 

Zuko checked around the back of the shop. 

"No keys. Uncle must have them."

"And you said Iroh was already at home?" 

"Yes…"

"So we're locked in."

Zuko swore under his breath and came back around to the doors, and gave them a try himself. He heard Sokka scoff behind his back, probably thinking  _ well  _ I  _ couldn’t get them open, there’s no way he can. _ He shot a burst of fire into the keyhole, and pulled on the door. Nothing. 

“Usually that works…”

“Oh, Iroh asked Toph to metalbend new locks so people can’t bend the locks to break in. She did a rather good job, I’d say.”

Zuko swore again and leant his head on the door. Great. He was stuck in here until the morning with Sokka. Of all the people in the four nations, it had to be him.  _ Although  _ Zuko thought,  _ At least he doesn’t hate me or want me dead _ . There was an upside to all of this.

Zuko sat with his thoughts and watched out the window as the sun hid under the horizon, as there was really nothing else to do. The sky glowing in orange and purple, the clouds danced around the colours, chasing each other around like baby turtle ducks. Sokka had taken up camp in the back room a few hours ago, for what reason Zuko had no idea. He assumed Sokka had just been tired from the trip from the South Pole. Zuko was proven wrong when Sokka’s voice called his attention to reality.

“Zuko, how hot can you make your fire?”

“What? Why?” The firelord turned to his friend. Sokka gave an exasperated sigh and sat a tray of meat on the nearest table. 

“I’m thinking if we take this raw meat and you use stronger fire for less time we can have meat quicker.”

“I-”

“So can you make the fire hotter? yes or no.”

Before Zuko could even answer his first question, Sokka had moved on.

“Follow up question: if you can make it hotter can you make it cold?” “

“Sokka…”

“Zuko can you have cold fire? If you don’t tell me we're breaking up.”

Zuko was, very frankly and understandably, taken aback by the rush of questions being thrown his way. He was never good with conversation as it was, now he was being bombarded with questions over  _ meat _ . 

“First of all, you can’t threaten to break up with me if we’re not together.” Zuko said, shutting his eyes and rubbing his temples, the heat returning to his face. “Second of all, that’s not something I’ve ever tried.” He opened his eyes again and met Sokka’s eyes, wide and sparkling with joy. 

“Can we-”

“No.” 

Sokka sulked and poked the meat with his boomerang.    
  


Zuko cursed himself for falling for Sokka’s puppy eyes. The pair sat on the floor, the tray of meat between them. He took in a deep breath, feeling the warmth of his bending in his chest, then exhaled. A bright yellow fire burst from his hand, coating the meat in a layer of light, which then faded to black. The skin bubbled and crackled as it burnt. Zuko flinched away, but was surprised when Sokka didn’t yell at him for burning their dinner. Instead, the boy laughed in amazement and jumped to his feet. 

“Ah! Bless the world of bending!” He exclaimed, smiling wide. Zuko’s entire body came to a stop. He had never noticed how, nice, Sokka had looked until now. The blues of his outfit defined the darker tones of his skin, and matched his eyes. Zuko’s attention remained transfixed on his friend as he prepared the food. The way his muscles moved as he cut down into the hunk of meat, shifting the fabric on his torso an inch.

“Are you gonna eat that?” 

“Huh?” Zuko looked down to his plate. Sokka’s plate was already half empty. Had time passed that quickly. He quietly began eating and Sokka finished his.    
  


Had Zuko been staring at him? Sokka wasn’t sure. Surely the Firelord had more important things to think about, he was probably just lost in thought about something back in the Fire Nation. Still, Sokka couldn’t shrug off the feeling of eyes on him. He didn’t hate the thought of anyone, even Zuko fancying him, he supposed, he just didn’t want to lead anyone on if he didn’t feel the same way. He thought back to when they had gone to the Boiling Rock prison. Maybe it was the desperation to free his dad, or maybe it was the prison uniforms, but Zuko had actually seemed fairly attractive. Sokka had never considered that he may have been into guys, the only men he knew before befriending Zuko being the adults in his tribe and Avatar Aang, who was basically his brother. This realisation came at a significantly bad time, Sokka noted, as he was now locked in the same building as the guy giving him these conflicted thoughts and feelings until Iroh turned up the next morning. Great.


End file.
